Game looks to Christmas as losses rise September 27, 2011 GAME Group is pinning its hopes on a bumper Christmas after seeing its first half losses double to £51m. The video games retailer has suffered from a lack of blockbuster releases this year as well as the economic maelstrom keeping people away from the high street. It reported a pre-tax loss of £51m in the first [...]
Moss Bros moves back into the black September 27, 2011 MOSS Bros has returned to profit after a surge in sales of wedding attire. The retailer said yesterday it had benefited from the “Kate and William effect” as couples followed the royal pair in tying the knot. The group posted a better-than-expected pre-tax profit of £2.2m in its half yearly report following a £2.8m loss [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS| WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 27, 2011 Natixis Henrik Warebon (pictured) has joined Natixis as global head of commodities to lead commodities activities within the fixed income, commodities and treasury department. Warebon started his career at Goldman Sachs, followed by roles at Lehman Brothers, Hetco and BP, where he was global head of crude oil trading. In addition, Andy Gooch, head of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 27, 2011 EASYJET UBS rates the budget airline “buy” with a target price of 435p. The broker has upgraded its forecasts in light of a positive pre-close update, and now expects pre-tax profits this year to reach £250m. While UBS thinks there is further upside to come from the firm’s valuation and dividend, it leaves its forecasts [...]
FTSE bounces four per cent as hope for euro plan grows September 27, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index gained strongly yesterday, posting its biggest one-day percentage gain for 16 months, boosted by a rally from commodity stocks and advances by banks on increased hopes that European leaders will take decisive action to alleviate the region’s debt crisis encouraged investors. Banking stocks, among the most sensitive to the twists in [...]
Progress on debt crisis lifts stocks September 27, 2011 US stocks rose for a third day yesterday on efforts by Eurozone officials to solidify the region’s rescue fund and alleviate a sovereign debt crisis, boosting optimism. But equities ended off their highs for the day after a report suggested cracks were emerging in a previously agreed deal to tackle the crisis. A successful solution [...]
EC proposals to reform the audit market are seriously flawed, says PWC chairman September 27, 2011 LEAKED European Commission proposals for regulatory changes to the audit market hit the front page yesterday. They represent a significant market intervention and while they have not changed substantially from a Green Paper published last year, if implemented they would risk undermining quality and confidence in the audit market. Of course, this is an important [...]
Miliband shows why Labour are not fit for office September 27, 2011 ED MILIBAND has just demonstrated why he is unfit to lead this country. Yesterday, he delivered a speech which showed he doesn’t really understand business, and probably doesn’t even believe in capitalism. It was an oration full of vague phrases and void of specifics, but the sentiment was clear. He is suspicious of big business, [...]
Ministerial favouritism isn’t business-friendly September 27, 2011 VINCE Cable’s Department for Business announced a plan last week to give the UK’s 50 largest firms ministerial “business buddies”. For example, Nissan will make friends with enterprise minister Mark Prisk, Vodafone will get chummy with culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and British Gas will have Cable himself as a ministerial pal. What will government ministers [...]
RAPID RESPONSES September 27, 2011 Kudrin can return Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin being sacked by President Dimitry Medvedev is not nearly as humiliating as President Medvedev being sacked by his Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. The Kudrin dismissal is a short-term disaster for Russia. That the country did not collapse during the global financial crisis was almost entirely due to [...]
